Episode 04: Mama don’t Take my Kodachrome Away

Show Notes:

Kodachrome
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away

-Paul Simon, 1973

History
Kodachrome had a 75 year run. First developed in 1935, it was the first substantive color reversal film using the three primary colors: red, green, and blue. Kodachrome competed with glass plate negatives such as Autochrome and Dufaycolor.

We learn that digital did not kill Kodachrome. In fact, the complex development process and heavy subsidies Fujifilm received from the government, and the popularity of E-6 processing made it more difficult for Kodak. The iconic film was dwindling away little, by little, starting in 1996. Ultimately, all Kodachrome production ended in June, 2009.